Birthday Present
by Mage and Knight
Summary: Sabrina wonders what to get Raistlin for his and Caramon’s birthday. Bethany already knows what she’s getting him. Rated T. No slash.


Title: Birthday Present  
Written By: Anargil and SolamnicKender (Mage and Knight) and Ravenheart  
Summary: Sabrina wonders what to get Raistlin for his and Caramon's birthday. Bethany already knows what she's getting. Rated T. No slash.  
Disclaimer: We don't own anything you recognize.  
(())(())(())

Sabrina awoke to the streaming light of dawn. Rolling over, she suddenly remembered. It was the twins' 20th birthday.

Bounding out of bed, she jumped on Bethany. "Wake up! Wake up! It's Raist and Caramon's birthday!" No answer was forthcoming from the pile of blankets. "Luthien?" Sabrina asked, confused.

"What?" a voiced yelled from down the hall.

"B - Luthien...where are you?" Sabrina called out.

"Eating breakfast, it's what most people do in the morning after they get up," Bethany replied.

"Oh." Sabrina said, nonplussed. Not one to be disappointed for long, Sabrina leaped off Bethany's bed and onto the stone floor. "Oh! Cold! Ouch!" Sabrina hopped about from one bare foot to the other. Overbalancing, she fell back onto her own bed. "Luthien!" Sabrina called out. "Luthien, where are the socks? My feet are freezing!" Sabrina waited a moment but no voice answered her. Grumbling, she dug through her blankets until she came up with the socks she had kicked off in the middle of the night. Slipping them on her feet she padded down the hall and into the kitchen.

Bethany sat at the table, a cup of tea in hand, sipping delicately. "You know, I think I prefer tree houses. The floors are a lot warmer," Sabrina said to Bethany as she walked in.

Bethany raised an eyebrow. "It's the middle of summer, Sabrina! How are your feet cold?" she asked exasperated.

"I don't know!" Sabrina wailed. Bethany snorted and stirred her tea.

Bustling around the kitchen making herself breakfast Sabrina kept shooting sly glances at Bethany. Finally, fed up, Bethany turned to Sabrina. "Yes? Is there something I should know about?" Sabrina grinned.

"Guess what day it is?" she asked in a sing-song voice.

"I have no idea." Bethany replied dryly.

"It's the twins' birthday!!!! Isn't it exciting! I've got a present for Caramon but I still don't know what to give to Raist."

"So?" Bethany said. "What has this to do with me?"

Sabrina snorted. "What do you have for Raist?"

"None of your business," Bethany snapped, annoyed.

Sabrina grinned. "Come on Bethie, pleeeeease."

"Shut up! Don't you have something better to do?" Bethany glared at Sabrina.

Sabrina visibly drooped and sat down at the table, proceeding to eat her breakfast in silence, broken only by the sound of silverware against the plate. "Sabrina," Bethany began, feeling rather guilty for making her feel so bad.

"What? Did you get Raist spell components? Or maybe some rare plant?" Sabrina asked cheerfully, completely happy now that her best friend no longer seemed to be in such a bad mood.

"Oh for goodness sakes Sabrina, get over the present for Raistlin. What did you get for Caramon?" Bethany said, trying to change the subject.

Sabrina, oblivious, obliged her. "I got him a dagger, it's really cool. I bought it off a traveler who needed the money. He, the traveler, said that he found it in the ancient ruins of a crumbling city. Isn't that a wonderful story? I wonder, do you think it is magic? The dagger I mean. 'Cause if it is, maybe I should give it to Raist instead."

Bethany sat, listening to Sabrina prattle with a small smile playing about her lips. "What?" Sabrina asked, suddenly conscious of Bethany's amusement.

Bethany shook her head. "You get more and more like a kender every day. I think I should start looking in your pouches when things go missing."

"Hey!" Sabrina laughed. "I don't have pouches!" Bethany simply pointed to three pouches that hung from Sabrina's belt. Sabrina grinned self-consciously. "Tas gave them to me. He said I should have a couple, just in case. Besides, they're not kender pouches."

Bethany started laughing. "Oh no, they're not kender pouches, they were just given to you by a kender and you have them on before you have your sword on in the morning. No, you are nothing like a kender," she chuckled.

Sabrina smiled in triumph. "Exactly."

Bethany fell out of the chair she was laughing so hard. Tas walked into the kitchen and gave a shout. "Luthien! What happened? Did a ghost push you out of your chair? Are invisible hands tickling you? Here, I'll help." Before Sabrina could stop him Tas proceded to start hitting the air about Bethany with his hoopak, trying to beat off the invisible ghost. Unfortunately, Tas hit Bethany more then he hit the invisible ghost.

"You stupid kender! Stop! Stop it! I'm fine! Sabrina, get this crazy beast off me!" Bethany roared angrily.

Tas turned to Sabrina. "I didn't know that it was an invisible ghost of a crazy beast! Come on, help me get it off her!" Sabrina hung onto the wall laughing, tears streaming down her face.

Bethany finally managed to get up off the floor and grab the hoopak. Dragging Tas who was still holding on to the hoopak, she swung the kender out the door and shut it firmly in his face. "Thanks for all the help." Bethany said sarcastically to Sabrina who was still laughing hysterically.

"Oh... dear gods, Luthien," Sabrina chuckled "It was so funny!"

"Right, funny. That's why I'm going to end up with bruises."

Sabrina's eyes lit up. "That's wonderful! I thought you said you didn't bruise."

Bethany groaned in despair. "Never mind. I'll be upstairs getting dressed."

"I'll come with you," Sabrina said cheerfully. "I need to get dressed too. Hey, do you have any idea what I can get for Raist?"

Bethany, afraid she was going to be stuck with Sabrina all day and thus unable to finish Raistlin's birthday present, suddenly had an idea. "I have the perfect thing you can get for Raist," she said swiftly.

"Really?" Sabrina asked, surprised. "What?"

"Well," Bethany said, "I know that Raistlin is in need of some new quills. There is a peddler in town who is selling peacock quills and gold ink. Go buy him one of those."

Sabrina beamed. "That's a wonderful idea, thanks so much Bethie!"

"Stop calling me Bethie!" Bethany hissed. "It's Luthien."

"Oh, right. Forgot again, sorry." Bethany simply rolled her eyes.

Once Sabrina had left the house, dragging Tas along with her, Bethany walked up to her room and unlocked a chest that lay at the end of her bed. Carefully taking out the white doe skin, she laid it on the ground. Unfolding, it she revealed fine cloth paper. It had cost her most of the money she had been saving up. Drawing out a long dark leather thong and a needle, she began her work. First she cut the cover, then stacked up the two covers over the paper. With all the precision she could muster, she carefully put the holes through the whole stack and proceeded to weave the leather thongs through the holes. She was sure to place them close so that the book wouldn't fall apart. After all, while she wouldn't consciously admit it, she kind of wanted Raistlin to hang onto it, which he couldn't very well do if the binding went to pieces.

Now the easy part was done.

For the last part, Bethany leaned back from where she sat and admired her work for a minute. This was the shortest part, but also the most difficult. Holding her hands over the book she began her incantation, a spell of protection so that whoever opened it besides Raistlin wouldn't be able to read what he had written. It was easily reversed... but at least it was something.

She felt the magic leave her fingers and enter the new spellbook and when she opened her eyes the edges of the pages had turned gold with enchantment. Her gift to Raistlin was now complete.  
(())(())(())

"And then I said 'Tas, that's not a rock you're sitting on!"

Everyone present roared with laughter... except for Flint, who still wasn't fond of Tas's mistake. He grumbled something into his beard as Tas bounced around by him.

"Well, maybe if you weren't hiding under the sleeping bag it wouldn't have been so hard to tell!" he said cheerfully, as always, even when it looked like the old dwarf was going to take his head off.

The companions had brought together what gifts they could, including a generous amount of ale from Otik, and it seemed to be going to everyone's heads, with the exception of Raistlin, who remained quiet and reclusive in his corner of the inn.

"Hey Raist, come join the fun!" Caramon called out obnoxiously, clearly having gotten his share of the ale and then some. "There's plenty left!"

Raistlin just ignored him and went back to glowering at the fireplace.

While everyone else was left to the partying and the drinking an the laughing Bethany made her way over to Raistlin and just stood waiting for him to come out of his little firey world in which Caramon was no doubt roasting. But when a few minutes went past, Bethany's patience (if such a thing existed) cleared her throat... and it paid off.

Raistlin looked like someone had just dumped a bucket of water on him. "Oh... sorry Luthien," he said, though the 'sorry' was clearly a formality and the 'Luthien' was as bitter and sarcastic as always. "What do you want?"

"I... here. Happy birthday," she said awkwardly, thrusting out his present and quickly hurrying away.

Raistlin looked at the present for a moment as if trying to determine if it was really there, his gaze not so much touched or amazed as just sharp and analytic. Deciding that yes, the present was real, he tugged open the ribbon and pulled the paper away. He lifted the book out and looked it over. It wasn't the work of a master... but it was quite adequate work nonetheless. And the pages looked to have some sort of enchantment on them. He opened the cover carefully, as if expecting it to explode in his face... but when it didn't he read the note inside. Just three words: "Your eyes only."

He eyed it curiously. Picking up a cool piece of charcoal from the fireplace he wrote down a few words and walked up to Caramon abruptly.

"What does this say?" he asked bluntly, no explanations.

His brother, obviously drunk but not illiterate despite his thick skull, squinted at it and announced, "Apflebingnaph." He grinned. "What is that? Some kind of cake?"

"Yes, it's a recipe book," Raistlin said sarcastically, but Caramon bought the lie hook, line, and sinker.

"That's terrific Raist! I'll make it some time!" and he staggered away.

Raistlin caught a glimpse of motion out of the corner of his eye. Luthien had a hand clapped over her mouth and her eyes were wide as she attempted to stifle a laugh and nearly fell out of her chair.

"You got him a recipe book? Good thinking!" Sabrina said brightly, which only made her laugh more.

Raistlin, a little smile tugging at his lips, made his way back to his seat. Not only was it a useful gift, but maybe there could be some fun had with it too.

He looked back down at the page. It read 'Thank You.'  
(())(())(())

The party started to draw to a close somewhere around midnight, when even the loudest of the regular customers had decided to call it a night. The energy was just starting to fade, a sign that it was time to call it a night.

While everyone waited around Tas the babbling kender, Bethany resigned herself to the duty of being one of only two sober people in Solace after this. Caramon wandered over, bawling.

"I lost Miranda," he blubbered. "She's gone, she's gone and she's not coming back."

"This calls for a celebration," Bethie said darkly. "Have another drink."

"I knew you'd understand!" He sighed, flinging his huge arms around her and inadvertently driving her into a corner. "Luthien, so sweet, so beautiful..."

Bethany desperately tried to push him off. Even the knight, bound to protect damsels in distress was distracted by Tas (apparently a damsel). He suddenly lurched off to reveal Raistlin, one of his hands on his brother's shoulder.

"Caramon, perhaps you should go sit down," he said politely. Or else.

"You're right, I'm feeling kind of tired. I'll just rest my eyes a minute..." and he staggered away.

"Um... thanks..." Bethany said, dusting herself off. "That was... awkward..."

Raistlin looked very vexed, but nonetheless confident and critical as always. "Actually," he said, "I regret to inform you that my purpose here is the same as my brother's."

Bethany was struck silent by this. She had never seen Raistlin look nervous or uneasy before, but her certainly did now. His gaze fell from her eyes as he hesitantly closed the distance between them. While stunned, Bethany gladly allowed him to proceed and, in what seemed like both a split second and an eon, his lips were pressed gently to hers.

Far sooner than Bethany would have liked, Raistlin pulled back, both blushing as they realized what had just occurred. "I-I... sorry," he muttered, his eyes hitting the floor. But to his great surprise, Bethany shook her head and managed a nervous smile.

"H-happy birthday," she said shakily.

Raistlin forced his mind out of its current numbed state enough to speak. "Thank you for the gift," he said, his pale blue eyes staring into her grey ones.

And in that moment, they both knew that he was not referring to the book.

FIN


End file.
